Ring of the Rhine Maiden
by Sabishiiko
Summary: Loki is visited by a mermaid and set on a task that will take him on a quest through Germanic and Celtic myth. Some charecters introduced in Celtic Connections. Not completed!
1. Chapter 1

The Rhine Maiden's Ring 

Fall had come and winter was not far behind. Loki shivered. The approach of winter always brought a sense of foreboding for him. Fimbuvetr, the winter of winters, would come, and then Ragnarok. It was not so much a question of if as of when.

Walking beside him Mayura prattled on obliviously about flying saucers that had been reported over the Galapagos Islands. 

"What if the aliens were only able to land in one location on Earth Loki?" She was worrying. "They might think the whole world is ruled by giant turtles and not come back for a long time! Shouldn't we let them know we're here?"

Loki had stopped listening some time back but somehow her inane babble made Fimbulvetr seem much further away. 

"I wonder what it's like to talk to a turtle...Oh, look!" She suddenly exclaimed as if she had spotted a flying saucer herself. "There's Koh and Narugami!" She took off, leaving Loki little choice but to follow. 

Entering the fenced in area of the outdoor cafe Loki took a seat beside Narugami who was just finishing a meal, half of which seemed to have belonged to a somewhat preoccupied Koh. 

"What's wrong with..." Loki started. 

"What an adorable little angel!" A heavyset older waitress bellowed at him and was seemingly intent on cracking his skull as she tousled his hair and patted his cheek. "Would you like a booster sweetie?"

"They don't know you like we do." Narugami teased. Loki raised his eyebrows with a 'whatever could you mean' expression, adjusted his hair and his composure, and ordered a cup of tea. 

"Have you guys heard about the Galapagos saucers?" Mayura launched into her new favorite subject. Both older boys groaned. 

"As if you hadn't talked about them all day at school!" 

With a sigh Loki settled back to watch the three argue. His tea had arrived, he took a sip and found himself under attack again.

"Ack!" Tea spilled as his head was roughly patted. "Don't do that..." He started, then, seeing Mayura's smile of recognition across from him, turned to find a new assailant. "Oh, Arashiko." He met the dark grey eyes of a girl that had recently become a new regular in their lives on Midgard. She was smiling mischievously at him.

"You'll have to forgive them Loki." She said, indicating the overly exuberant waitress that had manhandled him earlier. "With Ms. Manager on vacation they've all gone giddy. Play your cards right and she'll give you a free desert."

"How about me?" Narugami asked. 

"Don't push your luck."

"Arashiko, are you in charge while the manager is away?" Mayura asked. Arashiko nodded. 

"Yeah, for two weeks. Oh...excuse me." She was distracted by the gesturing of a girl near the kitchen and took off, but not before giving Loki's head another healthy pat. 

"I'd like to see what would happen if she tried that on Heimdall." Loki grumbled over his tea. 

"No you wouldn't." Narugami warned. "It's seriously creepy."

Loki considered and decided he had to agree. It was a very strange series of relationships. During the past summer they had all been involved together in a very dangerous confrontation with a bevy of Celtic monsters, topped off with the very powerful Celtic god Tarinis. Narugami and Arashiko had developed a close personal relationship. At the same time, by virtue of the girl's half Celtic heritage and his own connections to the ancient cultures of the British Isles, Heimdall had adopted a fatherly attachment to her. 

Arashiko had nearly lost her life in the events of the past summer and generally it seemed that she remembered nothing about their true identities or powers. However, every now and then Loki would catch that mischievous glint that kept him guessing. For Loki, lord of trickery and mischief, the idea of being on the receiving end was unnerving. He blamed Heimdall's influence on the girl. 

Loki realized that Koh was still not his usual self. 

"What's wrong Koh? Did your girlfriend dump you?"

Koh regarded him with a slightly disdainful expression. "Girls don't dump me Mr. Detective."

"They just change their telephone numbers."

Koh made a sour face. "Haven't your heard about the murders?"

Loki nodded. He and Mayura had been discussing that earlier, before she had gotten obsessed with the idea of the human race being dominated by huge reptiles. 

"He does fit the profile." Mayura chimed in. "Both previous victims were young, attractive, well-to-do men from this area."

"You don't have to be so analytical about it!" Koh complained. "The fact is, the last victim, I knew him. He was working at the museum my father owns. I was just talking to him while he was unloading crates of antique jewelry for an upcoming exhibition we're going to have."

"Koh thinks he's next." Narugami put in. 

"I do not!"

"Well why not!?" Mayura admonished. "It doesn't always have to be young girls being murdered. It's about time there was an equal opportunity murderer!"

"Uh...Mayura?" Loki wondered if the girl even listened to herself sometimes. 

"No body wants to kill you Koh, except maybe some of your old girlfriends."

Koh fixed Narugami with a withering stare. "Easy for you to say. No one could accuse you of being well-to-do much less attractive!"

"Hey there rich boy...!" Narugami started back.

"No bloodshed in my cafe!" Arashiko warned, coming up to them again. She gave them both a no nonsense expression. "Your going to be considerably less well-to-do if your late for work." She reminded Narugami. 

"Ahhh!" He sprang up. "Gotta go!" He grabbed Mjollnir and, as an afterthought, roughly rubbed the top of Loki's head before springing over the little fence, nearly knocking over a potted geranium in his haste.

"I wish he wouldn't do that." Arashiko sighed. 

"Don't worry, I'll get him back." Loki muttered darkly. 

"Is it fun being manager?" Mayura asked.

"It's a lot of responsibility. Right now it's not so great because our usual cook is out with the flu and the part-timer I hired is really unreliable. This is the third time she's been late...well, here she is." Arashiko left them to follow a girl with short red hair into the kitchen. Loki watched them disappear inside. Something had brushed against his senses, setting off that little alarm at the back of his mind. That sensation that reminded him what his true purpose here really was. 

A sudden movement from Koh distracted him. Mayura was saying something about walking him home. Koh laughed, a little nervously.

"Fine bodyguards! A ditzy girl and a little kid! No thanks. Anyway, I'm not worried about that. Did you forget we have those exams coming up? Better get to studying Didoji."

"Oh...uh..." Mayura looked slightly panicked as Koh walked away. A short distance past them he pulled out his cell phone. "It's me!" He whispered. "Stay on the line till I get there!" He insisted worriedly. 

Loki smirked and turned his attention back towards the kitchen. Whatever he had sensed had passed. Odd. He was certain he was not mistaken. Suddenly the chill of foreboding winter seemed to seize him. Something was about to happen. But what?

"It is getting late Mayura." He said as they stepped out to the sidewalk. "You should go home and study as well."

"Awww Loki..."

"If you do poorly on your exams again your father will ground you. You wouldn't want to miss out on a really good case if one came up would you?"

"Oh no!" Mayura's eyes were wide at the thought. "Alright, I promise to study! I'll see you tomorrow!" Loki watched her run off. It was just as well he had sent her home, he had no idea what was waiting for him at home.


	2. Chapter 2

Loki regarded the woman over the edge of his tea-cup. She had said very little since Yamino had ushered him in to see her when he got home. Not that Loki minded. She was exceptionally pleasant to look at.

"You want me to locate an item for you?" Loki tried to clarify.

"More accurately you will locate an item, soon. We want you to ensure it is returned to the proper owners."

"That being?"

She smiled. Something about it was not kind.

"Can it really be that the great Loki has not guessed who I am?"

"I must be getting old." He passed it off with some annoyance, and was rewarded with a laugh even less friendly than the smile.

"What a thing to say, looking the way you do now! Perhaps your renowned cleverness has shrunken along with the rest of you." She sighed as if tired of playing with a child and made a broad sweeping gesture with one well formed arm.

The air shimmered like sun reflected on sand while the stinging odor of brine filled the office. The woman laughed again from her seat on the couch. She leaned back and gently waved a turquoise and translucent tail fin at him coquettishly. At its base were several ringlets of gold thread strung with pearls. A thick belt of gold also cinched her waist, inlaid with precious gems. She pushed back an errant tress of heavy golden curls with one hand, leaving just enough in front to cover what modesty dictated.

"Well? My father has entertained you more than once in his hall of gold, and my mother speaks well of you. Although there are few others who do."

"So, Hronn, daughter of Aegir and Ran. What a surprise." Loki did his best not to sound surprised. "If this item is of importance to the Rhine maidens I wonder that Queen Ran herself didn't come."

The girl hesitated, only for the briefest of moments. "I asked to run the errand myself. To see with my own eyes if this Loki is as clever as he says he is."

"I see. Then this item belongs to the Rhine Maidens. I assume it is valuable. What is it?"

"It is something known to you. It will not be the first time you have held it in your hand. In fact, this evening you were very close to finding it already."

Loki scrutinized her. This was worse than talking to one of the Norns. There always seemed to be some vital piece of information missing. He considered the warning sensation he had felt at the cafe. Had that been it?

"You will know it when you see it. When you have it I will come for it." She returned to human form and stood up. Apparently the interview was over. 

"One thing." Loki stopped her as she turned to go. She looked back at him. "What's in it for me?"

The smile she gave him was colder than Fimbuvetr. "Only the preservation of this little fantasy you and you foolish gods have set up for yourselves to hide in here. This one small thing which you might easily hide in the palm of your hand has the power to curse all the nine worlds together and those who seek its power for themselves will destroy Midgard to find it."

"Then there are others."

"I suggest you find it first. You really don't have a choice." With one last dark laugh she walked out of the office leaving Loki deep in thought.

Yamino entered a few moments later to clear away the tea things. He paused near the desk.

"Master Loki, does it smell...odd in this room?" He lay the evening paper on the desk in front of Loki. "Fenrir, you aren't hiding food in here again are you?"

"It's not me!" The small black dog growled from where he'd been sleeping at the end of the couch. 

The front page caught Loki's attention. 'Jeweler's apprentice murdered. Victim number three in strange case.' 

"Maybe the room needs airing." Yamino reasoned as he walked over to straighten the couch cushions. "Does it sound like a promising case?"

Loki didn't reply. His mind was replaying something. 'This is the third time she's been late...' 'just this evening you were very close...'

"FENRIR!" Yamino was standing in front of the couch with an expression of abject horror. "This seat cushion is soaking wet!"

"I told you it wasn't me dipstick!"

"Oh Fenrir really! Who else could have done this?" Yamino appeared close to tears.

"That weird fishy woman you let in here."

"Fenrir!" Yamino spoke in scandalized tones. "That was a perfectly respectable young lady!"

"Respectable my furry a...!"

"Yamino." Loki interrupted quietly. 

"Sir?"

"Perhaps you would like the chance to get out of the house for a while." 

"Master Loki?"

"Arashiko needs a temporary cook at the cafe. I seem to recall you once mentioning that such work would be an interesting challenge for you."

"Well...yes...but..."

"It would also be a convenient location from which to keep an eye on the neighborhood in which these murders are occurring. We can't let a good friend like Koh worry himself away to nothing can we?"

"Of course not Master Loki." Yamino nodded, always eager to please and sensing his father had a plan in mind. "As you wish."

"Thank you Yamino. We should probably meet Arashiko at the cafe when it opens in the morning and discuss it with her." He got up to leave the office. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight sir."

"Yeah, me too!" Fenrir faked a tremendous yawn and got up to follow Loki upstairs. 

"Oh no you don't Nii-san!" Yamino scolded, grabbing the puppy by the collar. "There's still this wet seat cushion. You know the rules, act like a dog, get treated like a dog. You'll be sleeping outside tonight."

"No! Daddy! Tell him it wasn't me! Daaaaadddyyyyy!!"


	3. Chapter 3

Heimdall tried to ignore the sound of Frey's humming as he came in. The crinkling of shopping bags rattled his nerves as he tried to concentrate on the numbers on the pages in front of him. 

"You'll never guess what Freyr found at Bargain Bonanza Blowout today!"

"Is it something useful in any way?"

There was a pause.

"One never knows when something might come in useful Heimdall."

"I see. How much did it cost?"

A longer pause.

"My! Frey finds the crisp fall air quite invigorating! Frey feels alive body and soul in such stimulating weather. Heimdall must feel it too since Freyr notices the central heating isn't running."

Heimdall spun around to face him. "The heating isn't on because we can't afford it! If you want to keep your body and soul together this winter you had better stop shopping for useless crap and start job hunting!"

"Freyr doesn't like the direction Heimdall's tone is taking."

"Freyr is going to like freezing and starving a lot less."

"Freyr's sensitive artistic temperament is not suited for secular employment."

"Some one has to do it! Ten year olds aren't allowed to work! Now look at this budget, we won't last till Christmas and you know the real cold weather isn't even until January."

Frey ignored the offered pages. "But Freyr must buy his Japanese Flower secret Santa presents this year." Frey seemed to be concentrating, but on what Heimdall wasn't exactly sure. Suddenly he leapt up. "Freyr shall do this! For the wonderful Classic Beauty Freyr is capable of anything!"

Heimdall sighed and put the papers back on the table. "How comforting that you prioritize that pink haired air-head over me."

"Heimdall should not forget he has formed human attachments as well."

"Not of the ridiculous kind." He considered. True, he could just abandon Frey and stay over with Arashiko. In this form he took up hardly any room and he never had been a big eater. Nothing like...heavens no! He had forgotten that Thor had officially moved in. He'd spent enough winters snowed in with that nutcase back in Asgard when they were children to last all of eternity. Between Balder's constant whining, Hodr constantly knocking into and over everything, Thor and Vidar either attacking someone, climbing somewhere, or setting something on fire, and the mercilessly sardonic Odin, he had nearly lost his mind. Family bonding experiments like, 'Let's make gingerbread with Mom' had gone terribly, terribly wrong. To say nothing of, 'Let's make mead with Dad.'

Frey wasn't even home most of the time. He'd be home even less if he could get him off working at some job. It would be better to be cold and quiet than warm and locked in with a pent up Narugami. 

"What sort of job should Freyr get?" Frey's voice interrupted Heimdall's thoughts.

"Well, you are King of the Fairies aren't you?"

"Not fairies Heimdall, Elves." Frey corrected gently.

"Whatever." Heimdall smiled darkly. "This Santa guy they have here is supposed to be some kind of big elf right? Why don't you take a position as a shopping mall Santa. You can play with little kids all day and really be Mayura's secret Santa."

"That plan might have promise Heimdall."

"The greedy little brats will scream at you, wipe their runny noses on your clothes, and pee in your lap, but all you have to do is listen to their selfish little desires and lie to them."

"Freyr thinks it is best Heimdall chose to adopt an already grown adult rather than traumatize a small child." 

"That gaudy costume probably weighs a lot and it's pretty bulky so you'll stay warm if they stick you outside ringing a bell. The humans here have a saying about suffering for their art so it'll be good for that old artistic temperament after all."

Frey regarded him for a long moment. 

"Heimdall seems to have forgotten something very important about elves. If Heimdall doesn't want to end up with something worse than coal in his stocking this year he should treat Freyr with a little more respect."

"GO OUT AND EARN IT FREY!"


	4. Chapter 4

Narugami pulled the heavy, package laden cart to a stop outside the delivery door and rang the bell. Maybe it was just the slight chill in the early morning air but the cafe seemed to smell extra good today. He grinned in anticipation as the door opened but was quickly taken aback by the face that greeted him.

"Four-eyes!"

"Oh, Narugami. Good morning."

"What are you doing here?"

"Miss Arashiko was in need of a temporary cook so I volunteered."

"Temporary is right, if the manager comes back and catches you she'll skin you. She never hires men. She doesn't even like me!"

"Uh...well...Master Loki is using the cafe as a base for his current investigations." 

"So that's it..."

"Yamino, we're about to open." Arashiko came in from the patio area. "Everything ready?"

"Yes ma'am. Oh, the deliveries are here."

"Good." She peeked into the simmering pots. "We usually feed the boy breakfast so make sure he works for it." She teased.

"Boy?" Narugami made a face.

"Yes ma'am." Yamino couldn't help but smile as Arashiko left again.

"Boy!?"

"I believe that is Miss Arashiko's way of telling us to get back to work."

"The real manager can't come back soon enough to suit me!" Narugami grumbled as he set to work unloading his cart.


	5. Chapter 5

By the end of the lunch rush Loki had discovered one thing. No matter what ever befell him he would never go into the cafe business. The cool weather had actually increased business to a fever pitch all morning. Lunch had been unbearably crowded. Yamino seemed to be enjoying himself but Loki was bored. He had long since finished the morning paper and drunk at least two gallons of tea. He had been poked, prodded, and pinched by the older waitresses while the younger ones flocked adoringly around Yamino whenever Arashiko wasn't handy to run them off to do side work. They scattered like pigeons every time she came near. Loki himself had learned to roll silverware in a napkin like swaddling a baby. The afternoon however was in stark contrast. The cafe took on the lonely anticipation of a desert waiting for the rains to come. The town may of well of become a ghost town. He had certainly discovered nothing about the case.

By three o'clock Loki was actually looking forward to Mayura's arrival but one look at her glum face as she wandered into the patio and sat down across from him told him no relief was in sight.

"A hoax..." She murmured as if wounded and dazed. "It was all...a hoax."

Loki knew what she was talking about; the paper had made it clear that no UFO's had visited the Galapagos. The giant tortoises munched away in their usual peace and tranquility. An environmentalist group had claimed responsibility, saying it had been done to draw attention to the damage tourists were doing to the environment there. Apparently Mayura was taking it hard. She gazed sadly at his stacks of rolled silverware.

Something prickled Loki's senses. He turned and watched the red haired girl come bustling in. She was nearing their table.

"Hi!" He looked up at her like a typical little kid, planting himself in her way. "My name's Loki, what's yours?"

She looked at him oddly. "Uh...Medea."

"Your early today Medea." He shifted foot to foot effectively blocking her way.

"Yeah, well, the boss is a meanie, she said if I was late again she'd fire me so I came early."

"You don't want her to make you work early do you? Come sit with us." He pointed at the table where Mayura sat. 

"Well, okay."

"This is Mayura."

The two girls said hello but Mayura was less than her usual bubbly self.

"Mayura's usually more talkative but she's suffering some sort of personal betrayal at the moment." Loki explained. Medea sat next to her and seemed very interested.

"I'm just fine Loki." Mayura pouted. "It just was so mean of them to lie like that and pretend to be something that they weren't!"

Medea looked sympathetically at her. "Oh, I understand. It's terrible when someone puts their whole soul into believing in something and it's been nothing but a big trick! You have been betrayed!" 

"You really do understand!" Mayura perked up dramatically. 

"Well Mr. Detective, trying to detect which side to put the salad fork on?"

Loki turned to find Koh looking down at him. "You look like you feel better." 

"And why not?" He pulled a little device out of his jacket pocket. "It's a personal alarm, one glimmer of danger and I can have the entire police force in seconds. I couldn't be safer..."

"AND YOUR PROBABLY THE ONE THAT DID IT!!" Medea had leapt up and was angrily pointing a finger in Koh's face. "Your just the type! Handsome and rich, can't do anything wrong! Now here you are to gloat! How dare you betray this poor innocent girl's faith!"

Koh looked down. "Uh...Didoji?"

"It's not like that." Mayura tried to explain. "It's the UFO reports in the Galapagos...they were faked...isn't that what you meant?"

"Uh..." Medea stared at her. "But... I better get to work." She excused herself, knocking her purse over as she turned, the contents spilling out.

"Anyway." Koh went on. "All of us who will be involved with the antique jewelry exhibit gets one of these."

"Antique jewelry?" Medea looked up. "Oh, I'm sorry." She gathered the last of the things into her bag and stood up. "I have no right to listen in after accusing you like that, but I love antique jewelry."

"Well, I suppose it's forgivable. With Mayura involved misunderstandings are almost compulsory. My father's museum is having a special exhibition of antique pieces from around the world. You should come and see it."

"I will. I used to have a special ring but...it was lost."

"Maybe you'll find something to replace it. There will be quite a lot on sale to benefit the museum and some other charities are involved as well. Let me know when your there and I'll make sure you get a fair price."

"Thank you." Medea seemed distracted in thought but she managed a brilliant smile for Koh before hurrying off to the kitchen. 

"Did that girl say I was handsome? She's rather pretty herself." He turned his attention to Mayura. "So what's this about a betrayal Didoji? Something happen I don't know about?"

"Oh! Don't even ask!"

TO BE CONTINUED...


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey, Narugami!"

"Yes sir?" Narugami replied from where he was mopping as the restaurant manager approached.

"Got a new waiter here, I want you to show him around. Give him a couple tables on your station to start on."

"Sure."

"Well the first thing we have to do is get you acquainted with where everything is." Narugami rattled off in the voice of experience as he put the mop away in a corner. "Have you ever done any restaurant work before?"

"No."

What about that voice seemed familiar? He turned around.

"FREY!"

The taller god smiled down at him with an almost puppy dog willingness.

"Uh Frey...why..?"

"Freyr shall be the best waiter in all of Japan and win the heart of his beloved Japanese flower. And stop Heimdall from glaring at him so much." He added quietly.

"But...Never mind. Let's just show you around first."

It was, of course, the night from restaurant hell. Frey had started off well. He had a natural grace for carrying trays, and he looked quite debonair in his uniform. He was willing to learn, and more willing to work than Narugami would have expected. Frey had, he explained, thoroughly anticipated the labor involved in such a venture and he was ready to tackle them. There was just one thing that Frey had not counted on.

Customers.

Frey was lecturing a trio of businessmen on their way out. Narugami grabbed him and pulled him behind the service line.

"What are you doing Frey!"

"A god can take only so much. Freyr has not yet received a single tip, and Freyr has tried so hard!"

"Tip? Frey, there is no tipping in Japan! You don't tip when you go to a restaurant do you?"

"Freyr always believed that Heimdall was just being mean by not allowing Freyr to tip. Heimdall can be such a miser, and very hard to please at times."

"No tips Frey, and don't lecture the customers anymore, you'll get in trouble. You'll get paid at the end of the week."

Unfortunately things continued to go downhill for Frey. An honest and truthful soul, The Customer is Always Right was a maxim that Frey just could not grasp, and as a god he felt it his duty to patiently remind them of the error of their ways.

"Now Freyr knows that sir did not mention anything of the sort when sir ordered."

"Freyr understands how ma'am feels, but ma'am is far too large already to eat a second cream puff."

"No sir, Freyr can not take back the well done steak that sir ordered and make it rare. There are limits to what a god can do."

Narugami had steered him to the break room. Maybe a little food would settle him down.

"Here Frey, try some of this, you may as well know what your serving out there."

"This is awful."

"Yeah, but people don't come here for good food. It's all about convenience and low prices. You want really good food you have to go to a fancy restaurant, like Sakai's up the street."

Narugami would come to regret those words. He could hear the customer at the table behind him.

"Waiter, what would you recommend?"

"Well, Freyr feels that..."


	7. Chapter 7

Narugami walked home under growing storm clouds. Thanks to Frey they had both been fired. He hated to tell Arashiko. Not that she'd be disappointed in him. To the contrary, she'd listen sympathetically to the whole horrible story and fix him his favorite dinner. Then she'd stroke his hair and tell him it was all for the best and he'd find a better job tomorrow. He smiled. Yeah, it wasn't so bad after all. He reached for the doorknob and paused.

Voices? He went in.

Arashiko and Heimdall sat opposite each other across the coffee table, a game board in front of them.

"Hey, you're early." She smiled at him and turned her attention quickly back to the game. "We're playing Go, I'm going to beat him this time."

"Uh-huh." Trust Arashiko to think she could beat the god of tactics in a game of strategy. Narugami sighed. That was right, Thursdays were the evenings Heimdall visited while he worked late.

"Is there anything for dinner?"

"No, I didn't expect you home. You want something?"

_Yeah, for Heimdall to go home._ "Never mind." He grumbled and got a carton of ramen down from the cabinet and turned on the burner on the stove to heat water.

"Meowww?"

He looked down at the cat that had wound itself around his leg.

"Did you feed Thalfi?"

"Not yet."

Narugami got down a can of cat food as well, opened it and spooned it into the cat's bowl. Watching it eat he leaned against the stove with one hand.

"OUCH!"

"Some one came home cranky." Heimdall whispered as he casually placed the winning Go stone.

"Hmm. You should have seen him when he caught me using that wooden sword of his to beat the carpets. One more game?"

An hour later Narugami heard the front door close. Having finished his less than comforting ramen he had made a pitiful example of himself by pretending to fall asleep, resting on his folded arms at the kitchen table. He listened to her footsteps as she put away the game and books they had been looking at before wandering into the kitchen.

"Oh poor thing." She said softly. "Nobody gives you any attention at all. You want somebody to rub your head?"

_That was more like it._ Nothing happened. He peeked out. Arashiko stood by the sink holding Thalfi and scratching his ears while the cat purred ecstatically. Narugami stood up. Frey was right, there was only so much a god could take in one evening.

"I thought you were asleep. Still hungry?"

"No. I think I'll just, uh, go to bed." He looked a little hopeful, but she had turned her back and set the cat down.

"Okay, I'm going to wash up in here. Good night."

"Good night." He sighed.


	8. Chapter 8

Mayura was helping Loki read his paper. At least that's what she said she was doing. Loki wasn't sure what he'd call it, but helping wasn't a term he'd use.

"Here's an interesting story!" She spoke excitedly from across the cafe table. "A man in France taught his dog to bark the tune of La Marseillaise. He's touring all over France. I wonder if we could teach Fenrir to sing Kimi ga Yo!"

"Fenrir is a difficult to train breed."

"It'd be an instant sensation! You could see the country!"

"I can see all I need to from here at the moment."

"You'd go to Okinawa. Oh Loki! Take me with you!"

"Uh...sure Mayura."

Looking pleased she returned to her half of the paper quietly humming to herself.

"_May your reign continue for a thousand, eight thousand years, until the pebbles grow into boulders lush with moss..."._

Loki honed in on a small article in the corner of one of the pages she held.

Search for missing girl turning up no leads, officially discontinued...

"Mayura, let me see that page."

"Where?" She started reading it before he could tug it away.

"Wow! Mystery! The girl had become hikikomori after being jilted by a popular boy in her class and refused to leave her room for three years. Her embarrassed parents provided for her needs but otherwise hoped to just wait for her to recover on her own. About six months ago they decided to get professional consultation but when they opened her room she was gone. She left no note but a book of Greek mythology was laying in the exact center of the room...Wow!"

She finally let go of the paper as she stood up, gripped apparently in the throes of an attack of mystery syndrome. Loki recovered the article and scanned it as she danced around the table with excitement.

"A young girl jilted by love! The Greek god Zeus took pity on her and began visiting her secretly but in order to see him she had to promise never to leave her room. When she found out they were going to force her to break her promise she ran away with him to Mount Olympus and became his Queen!"

"I wouldn't put it past Zeus." Loki replied, only half listening as he read. "But I think Hera might have something to say about that."

"Oh Yes! Maybe Hera found out about them and POOF! She made the girl disappear, or maybe she turned her into the book! ...Oh look, it's Koh." She came up close to Loki and stage whispered. "I bet he's come to see Medea! They've really hit it off. He's going to take her to the Jewelry Exhibition tomorrow. I bet he buys her something!" She sing-songed mischievously. "We're going too right Loki?"

"Yeah, I guess so. The murderer is somehow connected to the antique jewelry trade so we might be able to pick up a few clues." He looked at her smiling, hopeful expression. "No Mayura, I'm not buying you anything."

"Aww."

The beeping of a motorbike horn interrupted them.

"It's my dad. Keep an eye on Koh and Medea for me! I'll be over bright and early so we can go to the exhibit!" She ran off waving goodbye at everyone. Loki watched them speed off.

_Medea. _

Arashiko interrupted him. Yamino was with her. "All done for the evening."

"Oh, I see." He looked past them to where Koh and Medea were talking to each other at the opposite end of the patio. "I guess it's time to go home then."

Loki seemed lost in thought as the three of them walked homewards in the gathering dusk. Mostly Yamino and Arashiko chatted on about the cafe. Narugami had lost his restaurant job so he would be helping put up the wind breaks around the patio that weekend. An outdoor cafe had certain drawbacks in the winter. The windbreaks would keep them open a while longer but there would be about two months they would be closed. Arashiko usually took part-time work during the winter but she was considering taking off this time. The bonus she hoped to receive for temporary managing would be the deciding factor.

"Then you could have an extra assistant for two months Loki."

"Oh...joy." Loki managed dryly.

"Don't worry." She laughed. "I'm sure I'll be busy helping Narugami with his jobs." She turned to Yamino. "Thanks for all your help."

"Your regular cook is returning tomorrow?"

"Yes. But you can keep your stake out on the patio if you want. Ms. Manager isn't back till Monday."

They walked on quietly for a while.

"Did you see the ring Koh brought to show Medea?"

"No."

"He's a shameless show-off, but it's really a unique piece. You didn't see it Yamino?"

"No I didn't, what did it look like?"

"Well, it was gold, and shaped like a snake biting its tail. It has red ruby eyes and each scale has a tiny diamond set in it. I can't say it's really beautiful but I bet it's expensive."

_Something known to you...__Andvarinaut__!_

"Yamino!"

"Right, sir!"

"Arashiko, go straight home."

"Loki..?"

"Don't argue. Just go home!" He ordered.

"Don't talk to me like you do to Mayura."

Loki hesitated. That was dangerous ground and he knew it. The carefully guarded line in the sand between what Arashiko knew and didn't know about him. And this wasn't the time.

"That ring may be connected to the murders. Koh and Medea could be in danger."

"Then I'm going back with you."

"Arashiko, I promise everything will be fine."

"I'm coming with you. I'm responsible for the cafe."

"No!"

"Ms. Arashiko, please accept my word that everything will be in order when you return in the morning."

She reluctantly broke off her glare at Loki and looked up at Yamino for a long moment.

"Alright." She said quietly. "I'll take your word." With a final warning glance at Loki she turned and walked off. They watched her go for a moment.

"Why is your word better than mine?" Loki complained. Then they turned and ran.


	9. Chapter 9

"I only hope they haven't left yet." Loki managed between breaths. "Mayura may have been closer to the truth than she knew, only, it wasn't a god that took the girl."

"What do you mean Master Loki?"

"According to Greek myth, Medea was a woman who was controlled by the Greek goddess Hera in order to kill Pelias. She fell in love with Jason of the Golden Fleece and fled with him, but he later abandoned her in favor of a daughter of the king of Corinth. Her anger at his betrayal of her was boundless and drove her mad."

"But, how could this be the Andvarinaut of Norse origin in that case?"

"There is a parallel in Norse mythology Yamino, a warrior woman whose betrayal also brought her to madness, and murder...there they are!"

Koh and Medea still were talking together on the patio. Koh looked up as Loki and Yamino approached.

"I thought you had gone." He smiled cavalierly at them. "Never mind, you can have a look at this too Mr. Detective." He took a few steps forward to where the street lamps gave a little more light, Medea following closely. He took a small box from his pocket and started to open it. Medea's hand darted towards the box.

"Koh!" Loki ran forward, only to be hit with a searing wave of heat that threw him back. Yamino was instantly beside him.

"I'm fine." He picked himself up and studied the roaring wall of fire that had sprung up in front of them. A crackling sound filled the air. Hot, like the breath from Hades.

"Brunhilde." He sighed, closeing his eyes for a moment against what must come next.

"It's hot, but nothing seems to be burning." Yamino observed.

"No." Loki acknowledged. "Like Medea who refused Zeus, the Valkyre Brunhilde was the one woman who spurned Odin. As punishment she was made to live as a mortal and imprisoned in a castle behind a wall of flames. Only the hero Siegfried was able to reach her. They fell in love and, as his pledge, Siegfried placed on her finger the magic ring Andvarinaut. However, like Jason, he later betrayed his pledge and married another woman, taking back Andvarinaut to give to his new bride."

"Hey! Loki!"

Narugami came running, vaulting over the little fence and rattling the pots of geraniums set on the pedestals.

"Arashiko said...What's happened here!?"

"The flames won't damage the cafe but..." Loki started to explain.

"Yeow!" Narugami had gotten a little too close. He shook his burnt fingers and glared at Loki.

"Despite the heat, the flames themselves are only a mental projection created by Brunhilde. Seeing them with our minds, our minds tell us we will be hurt even if we know it isn't real."

"Feels real enough to me."

"Master Loki, is Koh in any danger?"

"I'm not sure. Brunhilde may be placated by the return of Andvarinaut. No doubt the other victims had all handled it previously but did not have it on them so they were killed. However, Medea killed her rival, and her own children as revenge against Jason; and Brunhilde killed Siegfried, and herself."

"Koh!" Narugami shouted. "Oi!"

"He's probably unconscious in the center of all that heat." Loki spoke, wiping sweat from his face with the back of his sleeve.

"What do we do Loki?"

"One of us has to get in. As soon as the boundary is breached it will fall."

"Right! Roar mighty Moljinor!" Narugami attacked the flames willingly enough but they wrapped about him like snakes and he retreated, panting.

"I'm afraid a thunderstorm will do nothing to douse these flames." Loki spoke with some amusement. Narugami made a face at him.

"Look!"

Loki turned quickly in the direction Narugami pointed. Yamino had all but disappeared into the flames. Yamino, with that single mindedness that aided his unfailing devotion to his father. The determination that had preserved him alive and sane for centuries of tedium under the oceans of Midgard., could protect his mind here. As Loki and Narugami watched he vanished.

"Well?" Narugami asked.

All at once the flames extinguished with a whoosh as if sucked into the earth, leaving behind only the unbearable heat. Koh lay still but breathing in an open area not far from where he had been standing. The ring was gone. Yamino, his feat accomplished was returning post haste to Loki's side. Behind him stood Medea. Her posture did not suit her, it was meant for a woman far more confident and skilled. Her eyes were filled with a fire that burned of damnation. In one hand she clenched a long kitchen knife, in the other, her fist enclosed Andvarinaut.

Narugami rushed her. They clashed, scattering chairs in the struggle. Loki called out Laevateinn.

"She can't be allowed to keep that ring!" He yelled, dodging an overturned table.

"You can not take this from me! It's mine! He gave it to me!" She screamed, swinging the knife and barely missing Yamino who had armed himself with a cafe chair though it was difficult to tell if he were protecting the chair or himself.

"It's not yours." Loki reasoned. "That ring has been stolen from one owner to the next across centuries, gathering layers of anger and pain that no one should bear."

"No! He gave it to me as his sworn pledge!" Franticly she pounced on the insensible Koh, lifting the upper half of his body enough to hold the knife to his throat. "Leave me!"

"Crap!" Narugami growled. "What do we do now?"

"Who is she really Master Loki? Medea or Brunhilde?"

Loki considered the panic behind the ferocious face. _Both? Neither?_

"Aoiko?" He spoke quietly, holding out one hand towards the defensive woman. She faltered, for a moment her face smoothed and her eyes focused on him. A bewildered and lost young girl who's story had been reduced to a paragraph in the back of the newspaper. "Aoiko, you have to let go."

"No!" Tears were welling in her eyes, her grip on Koh and the knife desperate. "It's mine, he gave it to me!"

"Then he asked for it back." Loki spoke calmly, firmly. "And he gave it to someone else."

"Y..y..yes."

"That isn't the ring that meant so much to you. It belonged to another woman, from long ago, who once felt like you do now. Her name was Brunhilde."

The girl flinched at the sound of the name but nodded wordlessly.

"Your pain and anguish called her to you. To carry out her feelings of betrayal."

"She...she said she would help."

"You took comfort in Greek mythology and shut yourself away in that world, abandoning the one that caused you pain. You felt like the heroine Medea understood what you felt. She was like you. You took her name, shared her sorrow." Loki paused. "Like Hera used Medea's feelings to lead her to kill, Brunhilde has guided you by feeding your shame and loss to do anything necessary to reclaim this ring for her. This isn't the ring your boyfriend gave you, and took back for another girl."

Aoiko gave a shuddering sob, her grip slipping just for a moment. Just enough. Narugami and Yamino rushed in, Narugami parrying the knife as Yamino pulled Koh to safety.

"RRRAHHH!" She roared as if stung, nearly striking Narugami as he fell back. Fire blazed again in her eyes as she glared murderously at Loki. When she spoke again the rage in her voice made it clear it was no longer Aoiko addressing them. "You're no better than the rest! You and your tricks! I was once a Valkyrie. Keep that pathetic man, I have this." She shook the fist that clenched the ring at Loki. With a grand gesture she flung the knife clattering across the floor. "Give me a real sword and face me! I'll return to Lord Odin with your head and he will return my station to me."

"All Odin would want of you is that ring, Brunhilde."

"The ring is MINE!" She held it up over her head victoriously. "MINE!"

Loki's eyes were pulled upwards by the movement. A dark shape seemed to hover far above them. It was getting bigger, closer...

"STOP!"

The dark shape sent Brunhilde tumbling with an unearthly roaring. The laughter of a dragon.

"Fafnir!"

"Nooo!" The girl's shriek brought him back to earth. "It...It's gone! I have to find it! If I show him how hard I worked to get it he'll take me back! He'll know how much it means!" She trembled, her hands fluttering like broken winged birds. "Oh...Oh God! Help me!" She pleaded.

"It's over." Loki spoke calmly once more. "Fafnir, the dragon of greed, has taken it. Release the girl Brunhilde."

"I...I loved him! He gave his pledge..."

"Set Aoiko free! She's innocent, like Medea's children! Don't repeat the same..."

Brunhilde was not listening. She stretched her arms towards the darkness of heaven.

"Odin! Do not refuse my place in Valhalla!"

"Brunhilde! You CAN'T..."

For a second time Loki felt himself thrown back with the searing white heat of despair's flame.

"Allfather! She's...gone!" Narugami spoke, shock crackling his voice. All that remained was a golden flame that quickly burnt itself out and disappeared. Loki sunk exhaustedly to the ground as the other two looked at him.

"The pain...was too great. She...joined Brunhilde. It was...her choice." He rubbed his arms despite the horrible heat as he stood up and went over to Koh, touching his forehead. "This pain must stop here." He turned back to the others. "Look after Koh. He won't remember...anything. And Yamino, reset these tables and chairs. We have to keep our word." He turned away. His toe hit upon something that clattered. Koh's security alarm. It had half melted from the initial searing blow.

Useless, like all efforts to guard the heart. Rarely do we see coming the blow that will be our downfall.

"This isn't over." He said uncomfortably, not really to anyone.

"Master Loki?"

"Andvari made Andvarnaut from gold he stole from the Rhine maidens. When it was...taken, from him he placed a curse on it that can only be removed when it is finally returned to the Rhine maidens."

"You have to go after that thing!?"

"Yes Narukami, but that's not all. In the process, it is believed the gods will be destroyed."

"Ragnarok?"

Loki didn't answer. A chill wind blew across the patio and he shivered with foreboding.


	10. Chapter 10

The apartment was quiet when Narugami walked in.

"'Shiko?"

"Hmm?" Arashiko sat up where she had fallen asleep waiting on the couch. He put down Moljinor and sat beside her.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Loki solved the case."

"Good. Is my cafe still standing?"

He made an exaggerated face. "Mmm, most of it."

She gave him a mock scrutinizing look.

"All right, I knocked over one of those damn geraniums."

She smiled. "That's okay, nothing can kill a geranium, not even you." She wrapped her arms around him contentedly. He stroked her hair absently. It didn't seem that long ago he had first stood in this room, fainting at her touch. What was love? Something so powerful it could endure beyond death and leap the chasms between worlds. And yet, so fragile. It could be irretrievably lost in a single thoughtless moment. It could be madness too. A violent love like Brunhilde's that transformed into the most virulent form of hatred in which one kills that which one loves most.

"'Shiko...how much do you love me?"

No answer. She had fallen asleep. Just as well. Sometimes it was hard not to tell her everything. Sometimes it was a relief not to have to. Sometimes...

He was asleep. Arashiko studied his face, feeling the gentle rhythm of his breathing against her.

How much did she love him?

Enough to pretend she didn't know what she did and also pretend she didn't want to know what she didn't.

Enough to fain sleep to help him keep the secrets she wished he could share with her.

Enough to notice that it was when he most wanted to tell her, and couldn't, that he called her 'Shiko.

It was hard, sharing him with this other world she could not know. But that was what love really was.

Sharing, not owning.


End file.
